What's New in Payments

Mobile payments providers turn to in-app games to drive adoption in India

Payments, food delivery apps launch games to woo users — Economic Times — “Payments apps and food delivery platforms are launching games to increase user base and stickiness… Paytm has found that more than 70% of its users play these games daily… In-app games, such as Zomato Cricket Cup, Swiggy Match Day Mania, Paytm Games and Tez Shots by Google Pay, are just a few examples.”


NFC World

Kilchoman to add NFC tags to whisky bottle labels

Kilchoman NFC mobile marketing campaign outperforms traditional digital benchmarks; Campaign success leads to re-order — Thinfilm — “NFC generated a 6.5% engagement rate among consumers, outperforming more traditional digital marketing channels such as display, email, search, and social… Based on the success of the original campaign, Kilchoman will integrate Thinfilm’s NFC technology directly into the whisky bottle labels, eliminating the neck-tags.”


Pinterest rolls out QR-like Pincodes for stores, brands and magazines

Introducing Pincodes! Discover ideas from brands and publishers — Pinterest — “Nordstrom will now feature Pincodes throughout select stores. When you come across one, just pull out your Pinterest app to unlock a little inspiration, like Nordstrom’s carefully curated Gifts Under $100 board. You’ll also start seeing Pincodes on products from Kraft Heinz (just imagine the recipes you’ll turn up!), in select Home Depot stores, from auto companies like Kia’s exhibit in the LA Auto Show and throughout the December issue of Real Simple.”


What's New in Payments

Esso lets UK drivers pay at the pump with their mobile phone

Esso App promises to increase sales by decreasing footfall — Better Retailing — “Esso is rolling out a mobile payments Esso App that allows drivers to pay for their fuel without getting out of their car… The technology works through the existing Epos system, and Esso says it is supporting traders in part funding the £1,000 (US$1,329) cost of installing the system… The technology is “significantly cheaper” than pay at pump terminals, which cost approximately £10,000 (US$13,292) per pump… The Esso App also allows forecourt traders to send tailored promotions to app users on their phones while they fill up.”




PREIT installs BLE beacons in US malls

Retail shopping mall owner Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) is to roll out Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons in its shopping centres in 12 US states, allowing retailers and brands to trigger offers and information in shoppers’ smartphones... More


What's New in Payments

SmarTone unveils Kiss mobile marketing platform with NFC payments and Bluetooth beacons

Hong Kong mobile network operator SmarTone has unveiled Kissco, an end-to-end mobile marketing platform incorporating Kiss Pay, a mobile payments service based on NFC and ultrasound technology, a Kiss Dollars loyalty program and Kiss Beacons to allow retailers to send out offers and promotions directly to customers’ smartphones from their stores... More


London buses get on board beacon rollout

Five hundred London buses have been equipped with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons to send targeted messages to commuters, as part of out-of-home media owner Exterion Media’s beacon rollout across “major cities” in the UK in partnership with mobile marketing and NFC specialist Proxama... More






Alibaba invests in visual QR codes

Visualead visual QR code technology will help take advantage of O2O opportunities in China

Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba has invested an undisclosed sum in Israeli start-up Visualead, developer of the “visual” QR code technology adopted by Chinese social media site RenRen in May last year... More





Samsung launches Proximity mobile marketing platform

Samsung Proximity

Samsung has unveiled Proximity, a location-based marketing platform that uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons and works in a similar way to Apple’s iBeacon system — but without the need for consumers to be persuaded to download a marketer’s own app to access the service... More